"Clint Eastwood meets Jack Sparrow"- Navdeep Singh films the harsh terrain of Bundelkhand to hark back to the 18th century with a violent story that has dollops of a dialect that’s tough to follow and is largely shot in tones of grey and brown.

It’s raining, it’s pouring and the horrid British are on a killing spree.

A young boy who dares to look the Brits in the eye is hanged along with his father.

Years later, the Brits are still here. There’s a naga sadhu or a warrior ascetic, a Gossain who’s a bounty hunter. He alone can kill 14, says a dusty tracker who goes around with two huge dogs. And Gossain is looking for Rehmat Khan. A whore with a slashed face points him in the right direction. Everything is grotesque. Rehmat too who whips himself with regularity.

But by the time the naga sadhu reaches the spot, it’s been devastated by the ruthless Rehmat who’s been chasing a treasure. He leaves no witnesses, not even a child.

Meanwhile, Rehmat has a Begum with a child.

And a strange woman starts shadowing the naga sadhu. “What would a sanyasi need from a woman?” he asks her. He allows her to go with him till Awadh to findRehmat Khan.

What does she really want? Why does Rehmat Khan’s wife spit fire on her? Why does the naga sadhu thirst for Rehmat Khan’s blood?

The tracker, the Marathas, the Brits, the naga sadhu, an ugly sorceress and Rehmat Khan are all disjointed pieces that finally come together to tell a tale of pure revenge.

With all the horses and mood photography with matching music, director Navdeep probably set out to make Tarantino kind of cinema with horsemen and blood spill. And in a film that strives to be classy in its treatment, you wonder why an old man chained by the Brits thirsts water when it’s raining, they’re out in the open and all he has to do is to open his mouth.

Navdeep Singh films the harsh terrain of Bundelkhand to hark back to the 18th century with a violent story that has dollops of a dialect that’s tough to follow and is largely shot in tones of grey and brown. But they’re colours of depression, disappointmentand dullness.Which about sums up a film that has the viewer switching off most of the time.

The one bright spot is Saif Ali Khan who plays with finesse the Gossain with bare chest, face smeared with ash and dreadlocks. But performances don’t unfortunately make a film.

Verdict: For a bloody revenge drama that takes overlong to get anywhere, Laal Kaptaan gets a 2.5* rating.

Direction: 3.5/5

Story: 2/5

Screenplay: 2/5

Dialogues: 2.5/5

Music: 2.5/5

Disclaimer: We are proud that LehrenTV reviewer Bharathi S Pradhan has been appointed an advisory member of the prestigious CBFC. However, her reviews reflect her personal appraisal of a film and do not in any way speak on behalf of the Censor Board.

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